English → Latin
“distinguish” in Latin
signōto mark, sign; to seal, stamp; to statuenotōto mark, make a mark; to write, especially in shorthand; to write remarks or notesdistinguōto distinguish; to separate, divide or part; to adorn or decoratetribuōto grant, bestow, assign, attribute; to yield, give up, concede, allow; to divide, share, distributemaximusbiggest, largest; loudest; unencumbered
The English word distinguish itself goes back to Latin stinguō, through distinguo.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
distinguish
[Vid: to DISCRIMINATE, and (for SYN. and construction) DISCERN. Vid :, also, “to make a DISTINCTION.”][Vid: to DISCRIMINATE, and (for SYN. and construction) DISCERN. Vid :, also, “to make a DISTINCTION.”]
In the sense of selecting and marking out particularly, signare: notare: distinguere (PROP., to separate by points; hence, to point out by some ornament, to adorn).
IMPROPR. To separate by some mark of honor or preference, aliquem ornare, in honore habere: honorem alicui habere, tribuere (to hold anybody in honor; honor anybody): aliquem unice diligere (to esteem and love anybody in preference to others); aliquid insigne facere (to cause anything to become prominent): to distinguish anybody greatly, maximos or amplissimos alicui habere honores; aliquem praecipuo honore habere or amplissimo honore ornare. To be distinguished, eminere (to stand out, as it were, from the rest): conspici: conspicuum esse (to be conspicuous; to attract observation and admiration: conspicuus, on whom or which men’s eyes are fixed; not pre-Augustan, Liv., 1, 34; Tac., etc.): to be distinguished by anything, aliqua re praestare (above anybody, aliquem or alicui, Vid :, Herz., Hirt., B.G., 8, 6); aliqua re excellere, praecellere (alicui); aliqua re insigniri (of things): to distinguis one’s self in anything, excellere, florere in re; in certain respects, excellere in quodam genere laudis; above all others, inter omnes or super ceteros excellere; for or by anything, aliqua re excellere inter omnes or super omnes; aliqua re praestare omnibus: to be distinguished above all others in any respect, aliqua re unus omnium maxime floreo: the family is distinguished for this, haec laus floret in familia.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for distinguish?
- The usual Latin words for “distinguish” are signō, notō, distinguō; also tribuō, maximus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.